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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Poverty Skyrockets in the Suburbs

It has been nearly a half century since President Lyndon Johnson had declared
war on poverty. Back in the 1960s tackling poverty meant focusing resources in
the inner cities and rural areas.

Whereas the suburbs were seen as home to thriving middle- and upper-class
families, affluent commuters and homeowners who were looking for good schools
and safe communities in which to raise their kids.

But today's America is a very different place. Poverty is no longer just an
urban or rural problem, it's a suburban one as well.

We once thought poverty was mostly a problem for minorities in urban
neighborhoods, or those living in the rural areas of Southern states; but it is
also beginning to devour what was a majority of white middle-class families in
major suburban neighborhoods as well.

As of May 10, 2013, the latest data shows that 47.6 million Americans now
rely on food stamps --- 36% are white, while only 22% are black. And when we
look at people living in extreme
poverty, those households making less than 50 percent of the poverty
threshold, of 20 million, about 42 percent are white and 26
percent are black.

A
study from Stanford University shows that back in 1970, 65 percent of
America’s families lived in “middle-income” situations. By 2008, only 43
percent of U.S. families lived in middle-income neighborhoods. Meanwhile, over
that same period of time, the share of families living in either poor or rich
neighborhoods essentially doubled. (The book "Coming
Apart" draws on five decades of statistics and research that
demonstrates this.)

Over the last several years the suburbs have added poor residents at a faster
pace than cities. The number of poor people in U.S. suburbs rose by 63.6%
between 2000 and 2011, from 10 million to well over 16 million people.

For the first time, because of the Great Recession, outsourcing
and the housing bubble, there are now more people living below the poverty line
in the suburbs than there are in the cities.

By the end of 2011, 88% of all the residents in the Atlanta, Georgia suburbs
were living in poverty --- the largest proportion of any large metro area in the
nation. There are roughly 480,000 more people living here in poverty than there
were in 2000, an extraordinary 158% increase in the number of suburban poor.

The spread of suburban poverty had many causes, including job sprawl, shifts
in affordable housing, population dynamics and immigration - and now a
dire economy. (See the 1½ minute video below)

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Bud Meyers writes about the economy, politics, Social Security, corporate outsourcing, labor statistics, the REAL unemployment rate, taxes and tax evasion, government and corporate corruption, and the plight of the long-term unemployed.